A Washington, D.C., man finds himself “stranded” in The Villages because he says he can’t wear a mask and the airlines won’t let him fly without one.
Now Lucas Wall wants a federal judge to block the rules requiring masks on flights, claiming they are unconstitutional and conflict with several state laws.
Lucas Wall filed the 206-page lawsuit on his own behalf last week against President Joe Biden, the Transportation Security Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with Orlando International Airport and the Orlando region's public bus system.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Orlando, seeks an end to the federal transportation mask mandate.
Wall said he filed suit after requesting a mask exemption from Southwest Airlines for a flight from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale and was turned down. He said he was also declined access to the gate at the TSA check-in.
On Monday, he said he was also suing Southwest and six other airlines in U.S. District Court in Orlando, claiming they are discriminating against passengers with disabilities or medical conditions that prevent them from wearing masks.
He argues the rules are unconstitutional, in conflict with the laws in many states and — contrary to the views of experts — that wearing a mask does more harm than good.
Wall says he has generalized anxiety disorder and wearing a mask causes him to feel like he’s having a panic attack.
He says he has been in The Villages caring for his mother for several months. Both are fully vaccinated now, and he has tickets to fly again.
He also claims that “forced muzzling violates our individual liberty.”
Wall says he has a gofundme.com account to raise legal fees.
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